My Little History of DSLR/ML

This time, I will present here the first digital cameras (DSLR), in a chronological way.
Early DSLRs were unaffordable for the vast majority of us for the first 10-12 years.
In the '90s, only digital compacts were affordable, and still!
See: “My Little History of Digital Compacts”

The history of DSLRs begins with the arrival of the Kodak DCS 100 Pro Digital Camera (1991)

Kodak DCS 100 Pro Digital Camera (1991) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak DCS100 (1991)
The very first DSLR!
With a 1.3 MP sensor (1280x1024)
Price between: $20,000 and $30,000 USD
(with a multiplication factor of 1.8)

Kodak DCS 100 Pro Digital Camera (1991) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak marketed the Kodak DCS system in 1991
The system consists of a Nikon F3 HP with a digital back.
Captured photos are stored in a storage unit (DSU)
A total of 987 units divided into six models were sold between 1991 and 1994

Especially hard to find today!

Hi,

And that DCS didn't have a number at first. That came later after there was a 200. ;)

And it was a redesign of an existing unit Kodak had done for the DoD. Something they used to also cart about to sell CCDs to industrial customers. Such as a group I was in at IBM in 1983. We wanted something for industrial vision to eyeball circuit boards with wrongly places surface mount parts. The idea being to automatically divert bad ones to the repair techs. And not rely on anyone's Mark-I Eyeballs.

And Kodak came into the meeting room with one of those SLR camera conversions they had based on the Canon F1.

I wanted one right then and there. I didn't get any such thing until 1999 though. ;)

No way I was gonna pony up the cash necessary for a DCS when that came out.

Stan

Amateur Photographer
Professional Electronics Development Engineer

To access photos stored on DSU (Digital Storage Unit) you must connect to a computer with a SCSI cable

Kodak DCS 100 & PowerBook G3 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Here I'm using a PowerBook G3 233MHz (1998)
With a SCSI CONNECTION
Mac OS 8.6 with 96MB
Photoshop 6.0 with Plug-In Kodak Digital Storage Unit

Kodak DCS 100 & PowerBook G3 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak DCS 100 & PowerBook G3 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Some examples of photos taken with the Kodak DCS 100

Kodak DCS 100 Pro Digital Camera (1991) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

She seems very nice ( Kodak DCS 100 ) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°10 Kodak DCS 100 (1991) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

I love for my personal pleasure to compare my collection of SLRs between them.
And it gives me a good excuse to use my cameras. ;)

Here between the Kodak DCS 100 and my Nikon D500

Kodak DCS 100 (1991) 100% / Nikon D500 ( 2016) 100% by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Or with my Pentax 645D Duel She-Hulk

Kodak DCS 100 (1991) 50% / Pentax 645D (2010) 50% by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak DCS 100 ( 1991) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Here, the tiny battery served as a power supply. A very impractical and excessively heavy set

Kodak DCS 100 Pro Digital Camera (1991) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Photo taken with the Nikon D500 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Not very convenient to carry 😄

The second DSLR (the first truly transportable)

The Kodak DCS 200ci Pro Digital Camera (1992)
1.54MP (1524x1012)
Storage: A hard disk of 2.5¨ 80 Mbyte Int. Not removable
Available in five versions: two for B&W photography, two for color photography, and one for IR (infrared)
1,700kg

Announced at MacWorld in August 92
A contrast to the complexity of the original DCS (DCS100)
Kodak used a Nikon 8008s (Nikon F-801) for its DCS 200
More than 3240 cameras were sold between 1992 and 1994
For the modest sum of $9,000 USD
(multiplication factor of 2.6)

Kodak DCS 200 ci Pro Digital Camera (1992) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

The Kodak DCS 200 in its beautiful original box 😄

Kodak DCS 200 ci Pro Digital Camera by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

User’s Manual

Kodak DCS 200 ( 1992) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

The Kodak DCS 100 (1991) and the Kodak DCS 200 side by side

Kodak DCS 100 (1991) / Kodak DCS 200 (1992) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

The DCS 200 does not have a removable disk, the cable connection is mandatory to have access to the photos taken with the cameras. Otherwise, the camera is very pleasant to use.

It's one of my favorites ❤️

Kodak DCS 200 ci Pro Digital Camera (1992)
PowerBook G3 Series 233mhz HD 2GB (1998)

Kodak DCS 200 & PowerBook G3 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°03 Kodak DCS 200 (1992) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

December 25th by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°03 Kodak DCS 200 (1992) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

You should open a museum and cash in on your treasures!?

Good idea 😉

Kodak AP NC2000 Pro (1994)

The third Digital SLR (DSLR) and the first with a removable hard drive

Kodak AP NC2000 Pro (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

The official relationship with Nikon began in 1994 and Nikon provided confidential documentation of the 10-pin body interface, 550 cameras were produced for the Associated Press.

Kodak AP NC 2000 Pro by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak AP NC 2000 Pro by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak AP NC2000 Pro (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak AP NC2000 Pro (1994)
1.28 MP sensor (1268x1012)
The first Kodak DCS with a removable hard drive
A collaboration between Kodak and the AP (Associated Press)
Price: $18,000.00 USD
(with a multiplication factor of 1.5)
ISO 200-1600

Kodak AP NC2000 Pro (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°01 Kodak AP NC2000 (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak AP NC2000 (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak DCS 420ci Pro Digital Camera (1994)

Eastman Kodak Company, finally understood the importance of having a removable disk
(PCMCIA Hard Drive ATA Card Type III)

The Kodak DCS 420 was announced in 1994 and was based around the Nikon N90 camera body

Kodak DCS 420ci Pro Digital Camera (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

1.54 MP sensor (1524x1012)
Price: $11,000.00 USD
With a sensor close to 1"
(multiplication factor of 2.6)

Kodak DCS 420ci Pro Digital Camera (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak DCS 420 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

The Fujix DS-505 and DS-515 (1994)

Fujix DS-505 1.28MP (1280x1000)
storage: PCMCIA II
$15,000.00 USD

Fujix DS-505 (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Fujix DS-515 1.28MP (1280x1000)
$18,000.00 USD

Fujix DS-515 (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

The first professional cameras. manufactured from A to Z for Digital
A collaboration between Fujifilm and Nikon between 1994-1998
Marketed simultaneously by Fuji (Fujix DS…) and Nikon E…

1994
Fujix DS-505 and Nikon E2 $15,000 USD
Fujix DS-515 and Nikon E2S $18,000 USD

1996
Fujix DS-505A and Nikon E2N $12,000 USD
Fujix DS-515A and Nikon E2N $18,000 USD

1998
Fujix DS-560 and Nikon E3 $7,000 USD
Fujix DS-565 and Nikon E3S $8,500 USD

For a grand total of twelve cameras
Six by Fujifilm and six by Nikon

Fujix DS-515 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

The cameras have a CCD type 2/3 inch of 1.3 million pixels (1280x1000) with an integrated optical system.
Which allows maintaining a field angle equivalent to 24x36
A big advantage, the focal length of the lenses is not modified.
A 50mm lens behaves like a standard 50mm

Fujix DS-515 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Fujix DS-515 (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°03 Fujix DS-505 by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

the driveway by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Fujix DS-505 (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Fujix DS-515 (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

First 6 MP

Kodak DCS 460ci Pro Digital Camera (1995)

First digital camera with a 6-megapixel sensor (3060x2036 )

The Kodak DCS 460 (1995) The Rolls-Royce of digital cameras of the time
The first 6 MP sensor (3060 x 2036) and a magnification ratio of x1.3 (APS-H)
For an exorbitant price of $36,000 USD

Kodak DCS 460ci Pro Digital Camera (1995) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak DCS 460ci Pro Digital Camera (1995) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°02 Kodak DCS 460 (1995) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

With the Kodak DCS 460 (1995) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°04 Kodak DCS 460 (1995) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°07 Kodak DCS 460 (1995) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak DCS 460ci Pro Digital Camera (1994) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Canon EOS-1 N DCS 3c (1995)

In 1995 Kodak introduces an equivalent version of the Nikon-mount DCS series
Which used Canon's high-end chassis, the EOS-1n.

Canon EOS-1 N DCS 3c (1995) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Canon EOS-1 N DCS 3c (1995) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

Kodak-Canon EOS-1n DCS 3c (1995)
1.28 MP sensor (1268 x1012)
Price: $16,000.00 USD
(multiplication factor of 1.5)
ISO 200-1600

Kodak Canon EOS-1 N DCS 3c by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

N°09 Kodak EOS-1n DCS 3c by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr

EOS-1 N DCS (1997) by Marc Aubry, sur Flickr